Georgia State Named Top Performing Institution For Black Students By The Education Trust

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Andrea Jones

ATLANTA—Georgia State University continues to lead the nation in graduating black students, according to a new report of “Top Performing Institutions for Black Students” released March 1 by The Education Trust, a non-profit education research organization.

The report examines graduation rates for African-American students and the completion gap between black and white students at 676 public and private nonprofit institutions, as well as four-year, for-profit institutions. The report ranks Georgia State first in the nation in graduation-rate performance for black students, noting that Georgia State is one of only 10 universities at which black students graduate at rates that are equal to or higher than the rates for white students.

Graduation rates for Georgia State’s black students have more than doubled over the past decade, and the university now confers more bachelor’s degrees to African Americans than any not-for-profit college or university in the U.S.

“Georgia State University is committed to the idea that students from all backgrounds can graduate at high and comparable rates,” said Timothy Renick, the university’s vice president for enrollment management and student success. “As the latest research from the Education Trust confirms, we can achieve this goal. At Georgia State, race no longer is a predictor of who graduates and who does not.”

The Education Trust report found that closing the completion gap between black and white students nationally requires simultaneous work on three fronts: addressing inequities in completion within individual institutions; changing enrollment patterns so selective institutions enroll more black students; and improving graduation rates at institutions where black students are more likely to attend.